URUMQI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Hailing from a small village in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, lawmaker Musajan Nurdun is in Beijing attending the top legislature's annual session.

Strengthening support for the renovation of rural courtyards and helping farmers gain access to e-commerce are the two proposals the lawmaker has submitted to the session this year.

"I'm a deputy from a rural area. I will do my best to help promote the all-round development of border rural areas," said Musajan.

Musajan was elected the Party chief of Towenkwin Village in 2012. Since then he has dedicated himself to helping the village shake off poverty and the villagers pursue prosperity.

After taking office, the first major undertaking of the grassroots village official was to build roads. The old dirt roads in the village made it difficult for people to travel, particularly on rainy days. With the financial support of the local government, 25 km of asphalt roads were built and 40 street lamps were installed in the village.

The village also built 900 square meters of primary school classrooms and 1,200 square meters of kindergarten classrooms so that school-age children could attend school close to their homes. In recent years, 38 students from Towenkwin have entered universities across the country.

Most people in Towenkwin used to live on farmland. To increase their incomes, Musajan encouraged them to develop the intensive animal husbandry industry as well. He invited experts to train the villagers in livestock breeding.

The efforts paid off. The village has formed a famous brand for its organic animal husbandry products, which have been sold to neighboring counties and cities.

In 2019, the annual per capita income of villagers in Towenkwin increased by 730 yuan (about 112 U.S. dollars) to 17,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, the question of how to uplift the 10 registered poverty-stricken households, totaling 36 villagers, in Towenkwin was also weighing on the village official's mind.

Ahmed Yusup was one of those that Musajan Nurdun sought to help. His family of six was registered as poor in 2014 with an annual income of less than 2,000 yuan.

Musajan applied for 20,000 yuan worth of loans and subsidies from the local bank for Ahmed Yusup to buy four cows. Together with 14 sheep supplied by the local government, the villager started his livestock-raising business.

In just one year, Ahmed Yusup earned 10,000 yuan and was delisted from the poverty list. In 2019, the family's income exceeded 40,000 yuan.

"I built a new house for my family and a new shed for my cows," said Ahmed Yusup. Next, he plans to expand the scale of his operation to further increase his earnings.

Like Ahmed Yusup, all the impoverished residents of Towenkwin have bid farewell to poverty.

"Thanks to these efforts, Towenkwin has changed a lot. I'm confident we'll have better lives," said villager Alimjan Dawut. Enditem